Technical Field
The present invention relates to a roof antenna for a vehicle, which is mounted on a roof of a vehicle.
Related Art
Various types of antennas exist as antennas to be mounted on a vehicle. As one of these antennas, roof antennas which are mounted on a roof of a vehicle are known. Because the roof antenna is mounted on a roof which is at the highest position of the vehicle body, a high reception sensitivity can be realized. As such a roof antenna, a roof antenna commonly called a “shark fin antenna” is known which is superior in compactness and design.
This roof antenna has an antenna unit in which elements, a circuit board, or the like are integrated, an antenna cover covering the antenna unit, and a pad which is formed from an elastic structure and which hides a gap between a lower end of the antenna cover and the roof (for example, JP 2013-229813 A).
Because the roof antenna is mounted on the roof, the design (fine appearance) thereof is important. Thus, the antenna cover and the pad must be accurately mounted on the roof. If the mounting position of the pad formed from the elastic structure is deviated, the pad may be entangled inside the antenna cover or pinched by the antenna cover, which result in mounting defects. In particular, because these entanglement and pinched portion stand out, the design is significantly degraded.
In order to inhibit the entanglement defect and pinching defect of the pad, a countermeasure may be taken to elongate a length of a lip forming an outer periphery of the pad. However, as the design is better with a narrower width of the lip, such a countermeasure would degrade the design. In addition, the extension of the length of the lip causes an increase in the amount of material used for the lip, which would consequently result in an increase in the cost.
Accordingly, an advantage of the present invention is in the provision of a roof antenna for a vehicle which reduces the mounting defect of the pad without increasing the cost.